


The Quiet Things No One Seem to Notice

by Rei (RoarOfTheEarth)



Series: For the Love of Prompts [2]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: A little bit of angst, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, But I made it kinda better, Cor finds it mildly amusing, Cor's just there for the ride, Did I mention this was a slow burn?, Drautos is NOT Glauca, Eventual Relationships, Galahdian Culture, Gift Fic, Hurt/Comfort, Literally slow as hell, M/M, Magic is Limited, Nyx gets hurt and is being a little shit about it, Nyx is totally falling in love with Cor, Slow Burn, The process of healing actually hurts and isn't fixed with just one potion, This isn't really a 'fix-it' fic, Whump, they have this thing with hair
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-31
Updated: 2020-05-31
Packaged: 2021-03-03 07:01:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,956
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24466891
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RoarOfTheEarth/pseuds/Rei
Summary: Healing was a lot like getting kicked in the teeth. Twice. You had to, of course, get hurt first, and then you got an elixir cracked over your head for your trouble only to get a second round of nausea.Magic was a bitch like that.
Relationships: Cor Leonis/Nyx Ulric
Series: For the Love of Prompts [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1705471
Comments: 16
Kudos: 80





	The Quiet Things No One Seem to Notice

**Author's Note:**

  * For [IgnisFelicis](https://archiveofourown.org/users/IgnisFelicis/gifts).



> Happy belated Birthday to IgnisFelicis. Thank you for all the prompts you've been sending me and cheering me up over the last few days. I know it took me longer than I wanted, but I hope you enjoy it!
> 
> 22 pages of these two dorks being.... dorks.  
> ❤

Healing, Nyx figured, was a lot like getting kicked in the teeth. Twice. You had to, of course, get hurt first, and then you got an elixir cracked over your skull for your trouble only to get a second round of nausea. Magic was a bitch like that, taking its time. It wasn’t a quick fix, no snap-of-the-fingers then done deal. No, it had to stitch it all back together, work the marrow back into the broken bone, carefully re-lace muscle and tendon. And it burned, like fire under your skin; a rush of pain that was both a blessing and a curse.

That was how Cor found him anyway. Broken and bloody, hidden amongst rubble. He’d heard a cry for help in the distance even as he’d warped across buildings, ash and smoke clogging his lungs. He’d doubled back, even as explosions went off nearby, even as the city crumbled around him. But if it meant saving one more life…

He gasped for breath and clenched his teeth as the glass vile cracked and magic hit his skin. A wave of heat washed over him, too much like fire to be comforting. But Cor, curse him because sometimes dying was better than healing; was carefully sitting him up, checking his pulse and mumbling nonsensical shit under his breath while Nyx tried valiantly not to pass out.

There was a rumble that made the earth quiver a bit, debris from the destroyed building giving just a little around them. Cor looked up with a frown, glanced around before mumbling for Nyx to stay put. Nyx wanted to ask him where the hell he’d thought he’d go, the magic was still burning its way leisurely through his body, but he kept his mouth shut. He wasn’t even all that sure talking was an achievable goal at the moment.

He was vaguely aware of when Cor came back, rubble cracking under his feet. Nyx couldn’t read his expression, not that the Marshal ever really had another look on his face other than ‘mildly constipated’. Though as he got closer and his face stopped being blurry, Nyx thought he recognized concern.

Maybe he really was dying.

“We need to move,” Cor murmured to him, pausing as he knelt. “Think you can handle that?”

He wasn’t sure but managed to nod anyway, and was marginally pleased when he only passed out for half a second as Cor eased him upwards. There was a lot of cursing from Cor’s end as his mind came back from whatever black void it had fucked off to, so maybe it had been longer than half a second.

Cor was pressing his hand against his throat when he managed to open his eyes, face way to close in his personal space. When he mumbled as much, Cor had the audacity to look offended.

“You stopped breathing.”

Oh. Well yeah, that could put a damper on things.

“Just go,” Nyx managed to croak as another wave of fire washed through his bones. “I’ll catch up.” He wouldn’t, and the look Cor was giving him told him the Marshal knew he wouldn’t either.

Instead of leaving, Cor sat beside him, close enough that their shoulders touched and it gave Nyx something to lean into besides stone and rebar. “And listen to Titus bitch at me for the rest of my life because you have a hero complex?”

Nyx started to retort, but a new rush of pain stopped him and instead air hissed between clenched teeth. He was healing, he could tell that much. Some of his broken ribs were back in order and he could move his arm again. Cor was examining the side of his head, saying something about giving him another dose before trying to move him again.

The touch was so light Nyx almost didn’t register it. When he did and tried to move away, Cor bitched and his bones screamed. “Hold still, Ulric,” Cor huffed, fingers carefully undoing the braid that ran behind his ear. “There’s a bad gash here, you probably,” he paused, frowned more, and snorted. “You definitely have a concussion.” He could feel the blood matted in his hair, pulling slightly as Cor continued the task of dealing with the braids. Nyx just hoped the soot and dirt hid how red his face was at that moment.

It wasn’t Cor’s fault, he didn’t know. He wasn’t Galahdian. Only partners touched each other’s hair. Taking out braids or even putting them back in was seen as an intimate action between lovers, which this was definitely _not_ , but it was the principal of the matter. Cor was sifting his fingers through Nyx’s hair, checking for damage while the Galahdian sat there trying not to die from embarrassment and blood loss.

He’d never hear the end of it if anyone found out.

_Never._

* * *

The sound of glass cracking and the burn of magic woke him. He was actually surprised to find he wasn’t in the same spot anymore. Or in the same area in general. The air was cleaner and he couldn’t hear the sounds of buildings falling apart. Which meant he’d been moved. By Cor. Nyx wasn’t sure which was worse. Dying, or knowing that Cor Leonis, The Immortal; had carried his half-dead ass out of a war zone.

“Welcome back.”

Nyx’s knee-jerk reaction was to summon his kukris, but even as he flicked his wrist to the side to call one of the blades, he knew they wouldn’t come. They’d been lost in the city. He tried anyway and when he didn’t feel the familiar weight drop into his hand he froze, letting his gaze search the relatively dark room. The voice hadn’t belonged to anyone he knew. “Who’s there?”

“Easy, boy,” the voice sounded like it was trying to soothe him and maybe not laugh at the same time. There was some shuffling nearby and a light flicked on. It wasn’t bright, but it still almost blinded him. “Heh. Figured that’d be better than the main one,” the voice grumbled and Nyx found himself able to make out the beginnings of a figure. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust but finally, the old man’s face came into focus.

Silver-haired and wearing a trucker’s cap, the old man looked fragile but Nyx kept his guard up. Iedolas Aldercapt had been old too.

“Who are you?” Nyx asked warily, shifting carefully. He wasn't healed completely and his head still throbbed, but there was enough of him back so that he could at least try to defend himself. “Where am I?”

“Name’s Cid,” the old man stated, standing and walking out of the lamplight. “And you,” he paused and Nyx heard a clicking sound. He slammed his eyes shut just in time not to be blinded as the ceiling lights flicked on. “Are at my house.”

“Cor?”

The old man gave a soft snort. “Leading Reggie’s boy to the first tomb.”

Nyx’s eyes snapped open at that. He ignored the burn the lights set off in his retinas. “The Prince is okay?” A wave of relief hit him when Cid nodded. It hadn’t all been for nothing. There was still hope.

His mouth went dry and he had to swallow a few times before he could find his voice. “Can I borrow your phone?” One appeared a moment later and Nyx pressed the buttons in careful order. His first call didn’t connect, going straight to voicemail. He cursed and hung up before the pre-recorded message finished and dialed a new number. This one rang four times before it connected and a tired voice spoke through the earpiece.

Nyx almost cried. “Lib…” Relief lifted the weight of dread that had been pressing down on his shoulders.

 _”Nyx? Oh shit, oh shit!”_ All the tiredness was gone, replaced by pure adrenaline and excitement. _”You’re alive! Crowe! Nyx is alive!”_ the other man shouted and Nyx felt the last of the dread that had been crawling up the root of his tongue disappear. _”Where the fuck are you?”_ Lib was demanding. 

“Not sure, honestly.” He glanced at Cid who was watching him curiously. “Cor found me and brought me… somewhere.”

“Hammerhead,” Cid supplied, loud enough for Libertus to hear. “Pitstop outside of the city.” He trailed off. "What's left of it."

 _”We’re in Lestallum,”_ Lib answered. _”Came here with the others that made it out.”_

Nyx took a deep breath and swallowed hard. “I’ll see about heading that way when the Marshal gets back. I’ll likely be on foot.”

_”Stay safe. The Niffs are out in droves.”_

Nyx snorted softly but kept his voice even. “See you soon, Lib.”

* * *

When Cor came back it was to find Nyx pouring over a map with Cid. “I’d try to stay off the roads as much as possible,” Cid was saying as the door clicked closed, catching Nyx’s attention.

“You’re back,” he paused, realising how weird that sounded just as Cor arched an eyebrow. “How was the Prince?”

Cor walked across the room and stood next to Nyx where he could see the map from over his head. “Considering everything… Good. He has a ways to go, but good.”

Nyx hesitated on his next question but Cid was several steps ahead of him. “The City?”

The Marshal snorted softly but occupied himself with studying the map for a few minutes before he answered. “Gone, mostly. It would take years to rebuild.” If they had that much time. He was kind enough to keep that to himself. “Where are you going?”

Reaching over, Nyx tapped his finger on the map where Lestallum sat. “Crowns and glaives are gathering here. I got in contact with a friend of mine that made it out of the city. I wanna meet up with them.”

Cor was frowning down at the map from over Nyx’s head. “It takes almost three days to get to Lestallum by car. It’ll take us at least five, maybe more on foot.” His frown deepened. “And that’s only if we don’t run into trouble. You’re still healing after all.”

Nyx tilted his head back so he could stare up at the taller man, trying very hard to pretend he hadn’t noticed how Cor had slipped that “us” in there. The Marshal had no real obligation to follow him, but he’d always done what he wanted.

“I’m going to start calling you at Negative Nancy.” He couldn’t really read the expression on Cor’s face, he doubted anyone could without knowing three languages and having studied Cor for the greater part of his entire life. Nyx only qualified for the languages. Cor didn’t _seem_ upset, he thought. Until Cor reached up and gently tugged at one of the rope-like braids dangling behind his ear. Nyx felt his ears grow warm, sputtered indignantly, and scooted his chair out of Cor’s hair-grasping range. He only got an arched eyebrow from the Marshal, but the exchange got a laugh out of the old mechanic.

“The only car I got is the tow truck,” Cid told them after Cor took up Nyx’s vacated spot at the table. “Can’t letcha borrow that ‘ne, we’ve been gettin’ calls left ‘n right for a tow since the attack. That’s where Cindy is now.”

So they were stuck without a car. But Lestallum was where what remained of the Crownsguard and Kingsglaive were massing. That’s where his friends were. The King was dead, the Oracle was back in enemy hands, the Prince was heading for Altissia while collecting the Royal Arms as he went, and he and Cor were just sitting here, useless to anyone. It made him squirm.

“If we stay low and off the main roads like Cid said, we should be okay,” Cor murmured, giving a small shrug when he saw the questioning look Nyx was giving him. “Niffs are dropping from airships,” he explained. “Ran into a few with the boys. As long as we kept off the road and hidden, they flew on by. We’ll just have to be careful.”

That made sense. Lib had said the whole of Lucis was crawling with Niffs, likely looking for Noctis.

Standing, Cor shot Nyx a glance. “If we’re going to do this, let's get going. We have enough daylight to get a decent way before nightfall.” Nightfall and demons, but Cor didn’t need to remind him of that. He stopped at the door, pausing only to grab the katana leaning against the door jam before he walked out.

“Cid, I hate to ask,” because it felt irresponsible but his blades were buried in the ruin of Insomnia. “Do you have any weapons I can use?”

* * *

Cor was waiting outside the shop with two supply bags. Without the armiger at their disposal now they had both lost valuable space. Nyx knew a lot of glaives that had kept their camping gear there, not to mention weapons. Another thing he was going to have to get used to.

As he approached Cor he noticed his gaze drop to his hip where a newly acquired dagger was strapped. Daggers and short swords had always been his thing, he was used to zipping in quick, striking, and then pulling back out. Cid had plenty of the metal toothpicks - as he called them - to choose from. One from the pair sat on his left thigh while its partner was stowed away at the small of his back, resting in his kukris' old holsters. The old mechanic had also talked him into carrying another weapon with him. A pistol. Nyx had never used one, though he knew there wasn’t exactly a science to it. But Cid had insisted. He was used to close-range fights and being able to get away quickly, without magic it would be a lot harder to do so. So Nyx had taken the pistol and shoved it into his pocket where it would be safe.

“Sorry, left my blades in my other pants.” It was a joke, Nyx was used to joking around with Lib, Crowe, and Pelna. They weren’t emotionless machines like a certain Marshal who simply handed over one of the bags he was holding.

Cid sent them off with a wave, though Nyx was the only one to actually turn around and return it. “You didn’t have to come with me, ya know,” he murmured as he turned back around, hoisting the pack on his back a little higher. “Actually, you probably should be traveling with the Prince.”

He chanced a glance at Cor when he heard a snort come from the other man’s direction. The Marshal wasn’t looking at him, eyes straight ahead as he stepped over the railing that followed the curve of the road onto the grass opposite of it. “Noct has his friends with him,” Cor pointed out as Nyx followed him.

“Doesn’t mean they couldn’t use a little help from The Immortal.”

“Perhaps.” Cor paused and glanced back at Nyx. “But if Noctis can’t handle this on his own, then he won’t be able to handle the task set before him. I'll support him as much as possible, but for the future of Eos, he has to walk this path alone.” He turned then, leaving Nyx to trail after him in silence.

It took them the better part of two hours before they finally reached The Three Valleys, their first stop on their world tour of Lucis. There was a haven and enough sunlight to be passable for them to actually take their time getting the rest of the way there. So Nyx tried to pretend his bones weren’t still burning as the sand shifted under his feet, or notice that Cor had significantly shortened his stride from unbearably long to tolerable.

“I guess we’re lucky,” Nyx murmured as he sat his bag down on the edge of the rock that served as the haven. The runes etched into the stone glowed brighter now that they were there within the fold of its magic. “That some magics still work.” When Cor gave him a quizzical look, Nyx pointed at the stone. “The Oracle's magic, not to mention elixirs and any premade bombs.” Which he actually had two of, something he’d grabbed from the armiger intending to use only to have to stuff them into his pockets as he ran. “I would be… very dead, if they didn’t.”

That earned him a snort that _almost_ sounded like a laugh.

“How are you feeling?” 

The question came out of nowhere and Nyx found himself looking up from his pack. If he was honest with himself, he still felt like shit. Elixirs were meant to heal quick things, cuts, bruises, the occasional fracture. He’d been half-dead, buried under rubble and sitting in a red liquid that should have been _in_ his body, not out. Saying so meant their trip taking that much longer and the sooner they got to Lestallum, the sooner he could throw himself into a bed and not wake up until the next century or so had passed.

Or at least until the next fight started.

But telling Cor he was perfectly fine was a big mistake. Cor had seen him there as just a bloody puddle in the middle of some bricks and mortar. The Marshal would know better, so Nyx opted for a safer route and only told a half-lie.

“Still got a headache,” he admitted as he went back to rummaging through the bag, though if he was honest it felt like his skull was splitting open. “But I’ll live, I’m sure.”

There was a snorting sound somewhere in the vicinity of Cor, but Nyx paid no mind to it. Not until the shadow fell across him. The Marshal had moved without so much as a sound from his shoes, leaning over Nyx slightly just in time for the man to jerk upwards and cast him an annoyed glare. But Cor wasn’t paying a bit of attention to the glare and was instead reaching out to touch the side of Nyx’s head.

“Do you mind-”

“You still have a gash on the side of your head you know,” Cor stated as if it was something Nyx should feel stupid about not realising. He did feel stupid, but he wasn’t admitting that to Cor.

“It’s probably from when that Veles decided I was just a speed bump,” Nyx joked, watched it land flat at the Marshal’s feet, and then tried to backpedal. “I’m kidding.” He wasn’t, the damn thing had jumped halfway down the street, cut a donut into the asphalt, and charged right into him. It was one of the reasons he’d ended up inside the Oracle Banking building half under the foundation. “Can you not?” Cor was pushing at his hair, trying to peer at whatever wound was there. Nyx could feel it, but he sure as hell didn’t want Cor feeling it.

“Your braid is in the way.” Cor gave an exasperated sigh when Nyx just glared at him. “For the love of Shiva, I’ll braid it back when I’m done checking like I did before.”

Nyx stared at the Marshal, mortified because he hadn’t been conscious for that part of Cor poking at his skull. But Cor had this look on his face like he was getting ready to fight the most stubborn Chocobo in the field and Nyx wasn’t exactly sure just how much of a bastard Cor could be, but he had a feeling it would be enough.

“We,” he stated as he pointed from himself to Cor. “Are never talking about this again after we get to Lestallum.”

Cor looked confused, or as confused as Cor could actually look and snorted. “Fine.”

Nyx just had to remind himself that the Marshal wasn’t Galahdian.

He didn’t _know._

* * *

Cor was frowning at him but Nyx was dutifully not paying attention to him. Instead, he watched as the last streaks of sunlight slid lower on the horizon. He was being frowned at because he'd been found out. Well, not exactly but he was sure Cor had an inkling. Because the head wound was still very painstakingly stitching itself back together, which meant the magic in the elixir was busy healing something somewhere else. Nyx guessed somewhere in his lower abdomen because it sure felt like it needed healing. Not that he'd told Cor that.

Which was why he was getting such an annoyed look.

"Maybe going back to Cid's is a better plan of action," Cor suggested.

Nyx shot him a glance and snorted. "I'm fine, Marshal." Which was mostly true. He couldn't move quite as fast as he'd like and he'd discovered earlier while Cor had gained a little distance on him that if he turned his head a particular way he got a really strong urge to vomit. That was part of the Veles induced concussion though. "Like I said before. You don't have to come with me."

Cor made a very particular sound in the back of his throat that had Nyx turning to look at him. "You lived through that attack and having half a building dropped on you, and now you want to wander out into the wilds of Eos and die?"

"When you put it that way, you make it sound like I'm on suicide watch."

"If the shoe fits."

Nyx actually laughed at that and he was pretty sure he saw Cor roll his eyes. "Sir," he said after he could breathe again though his voice was still tinged with laughter. "I'm Galahdian."

Cor gave him the most unimpressed look that Nyx had ever seen on another man's face. "And that is supposed to explain all of that away?"

Nyx shrugged. "It did for his Majesty." And it had been enough. A lot of times when Drautos sent Nyx to Regis for the King's 'punishments' it was just so Nyx could report what had happened and exactly _why_ the Commander was upset with whatever stupid antics the Galahdian had gotten up to. It usually ended with Nyx smiling sheepishly and the King in a fit of laughter. He'd liked seeing the King laugh. It made him look younger, less drained.

The Marshal had gone very quiet but Nyx was absolutely aware of the fact that Cor was carefully trying to re-braid to stand if hair he'd undone. "He talked about you." That gave Nyx pause. "I think you pissing off Titus enough for him to send you to Regis was the highlight of his week most times." There was a gentle tug at the braid and then Cor was gone.

Reaching up, Nyx fingered the end of the braid, playing with the bit of cord he always wove into it. He could tell it was a bit looser than he usually did it but it wasn't a bad attempt.

"Well I'm not half as useless as I could be," Nyx huffed as he walked over to the fire Cor was coaxing into life. "I'll make dinner." He stopped when he heard a sound, one Cor heard too because the Marshal stopped poking at the fire to look back over his shoulder into the darkness that stretched across the horizon. Nyx felt like a pinpoint of light in that dark abyss as the growls and the hissing started. "Demons?" He already knew the answer but he asked anyway.

"Demons."

* * *

Neither of them slept well through the night, woken spontaneously to the sounds of demons rising from the earth outside their campground or the sounds of the monsters clashing together as they fought their own kind and the native monsters that wandered in the night. But as the sun rose and banished the last stray shadows that lingered on the ground, the demons disappeared.

"At least we know they won't venture onto the havens." Which only helped them as long as the native monster's stayed away, which they seemed to. If only because no demons hadn't chased them up the sloping rock.

Little in the way of conversation had floated between them through the night and Nyx wasn't sure if that was in part Cor trying to doze as much as he could, although every time he chanced a glance at the older man those icy blue eyes were piercing out into the darkness. staring intently at something Nyx had neither seen nor heard. Or if it was an attempt to keep from drawing attention to their camp by making noise. Either way, the night had passed in relative silence aside from the occasional angry growl out in the darkness.

"So we head south a bit and skirt Longwythe Peak before heading towards the Malacchi Hills." Nyx used his finger to trace the path on the map Cid had given them the next morning as Cor's shadow fell over him. When he tilted his head back he was greeted with the sight of Cor looking down at him, a bottle of green liquid in his hand. Nyx scrunched his nose but was thankful the Marshal at least hadn't poured it on him without warning. "Another one?"

"I want you to drink this one."

Of course he did, because Nyx's insides probably looked like scrambled eggs. "Wait, you can drink those?" He knew you could, it was more to fuck with Cor than anything. The look he got was worth it and he had to try _really_ hard to suppress his grin as the bottle was shoved into his face. He didn't want to drink it, elixirs were foul on a good day but he had a feeling Cor would force-feed him if he didn't. With a sigh, he took the glass, pinched his nose closed and tipped it back.

It still tasted like Chocobo shit but he kept it to himself. Mostly because he was gagging.

Cor went back to looking at the map while Nyx tried his best not to throw up and let the stupid magic burn in his stomach. "A kind man would have let me die," he groaned because he was in pain and it was Cor's fault.

"Regis used to tell me I was the biggest asshole he knew." Cor paused and glanced over his shoulder at the younger man.

Nyx choked a little. "Really, you?" He tried to picture Cor being a shithead and failed. "I mean, you can't be worse and Luche. I don't actively want to strangle you on sight." Because Luche Lazarus was a _dick_ and he was pretty sure he had some kind of blackmail on Drautos with all the shit he got away with.

"During the war, we fought a demon named Ultros."

"Ultros?"

Cor nodded. "Big kind of purple-grey octopus looking thing," he elaborated. "Rude as hell too. It managed to get away but for weeks after that, I'd go fishing." The corner of Cor's mouth quirked upwards and there was a gleam in his icy eyes that had Nyx captivated for a moment. "And catch squid or octopus. When Cid or Wesk would cook, I'd have a piece of one's tentacle that I'd slide into his food for him to uncover later."

Nyx was quiet for a moment, watching Cor in silence because that was a story they didn't tell you about the King. It was always the good ones where he was the hero, not the ones where he was squeamish over fish. Cor was folding the map up, stuffing it away in his pack when Nyx decided to share a story he'd never admitted to anyone.

"You ever smelled a Malboro before?" When Cor shot him a curious glance then slowly nodded, Nyx turned and focused his full attention back on his pack. "Fought one on a mission once. Drautos made the mistake of pissing me off beforehand so after we killed it, I fished out this sack they keep in the back of their throat. It’s why their breath smells so bad." He wrinkled his nose up a bit but grinned at the memory. "See his desk had some little hidden compartments he didn't know about, so I hid it in there. His office smelled like Malboro and death for _days_. Never did figure it out and eventually, I snuck in and got it back because he was forcing all of us to endure meetings there until someone fessed up."

That was the first time Nyx heard Cor actually laugh.

* * *

Longwythe Peak was just as impressive as the stories about it in Galahd had portrayed it. Huge and formidable, the jagged mountain stood out against the background as they made their approach. 

"My Nan used to tell me stories about this place back home. They used to say a giant adamantoise lived under it because it was hiding from Titan." Nyx grinned sheepishly when Cor raised a questioning eyebrow and scratched at the bridge of his nose. "It was hiding because Titan wanted to turn its shell into a soup bowl. Silly, I know." Cor at least chuckled as the peak slowly grew in size as they approached.

It probably took another hour of walking and small conversations before they reached the base of the peak. Nyx was admiring the height of the mountain, standing at the base and craning his head back to stare up at it mumbling about a "big ass turtle" while Cor trailed on ahead, a low chuckle escaping under his breath. That chuckle was cut off as he rounded one of the boulders littered around the base.

A voretooth group was spread out amongst the rocks there, looking up at his presence. It wasn't so much a group as it was a whole damn pack or colony of the things, more appearing from behind nearby rocks as the others started growling and gnashing their teeth together. Their attention seemed to change from him to something behind him and the gentle "oh shit" he heard told him Nyx had caught up.

"We might have a problem."

" _Might._ "

"Do you think you can fight?" Because Cor knew Nyx was still healing. He might be fine, but the wrong turn, the wrong move could set the whole healing process back by days or weeks. He'd learned that much personally.

Nyx was assessing the situation carefully, one hand already inching towards the dagger on his hip. "Doesn't matter if I think I can or can't," he shrugged. "It's fight or be voretooth food, and their breath _really_ stinks."

Cor shook his head, drew his katana from its sheath, and charged at the closest one.

It took an effort to remember that he couldn't warp. Nyx caught himself twice within the first few minutes of clashing with the voretooth -Voreteeth? Voretooths?- and had to make sure he didn't just chuck his only weapon halfway way across the sand in the hope of following it. He waited for one to lunge at him and ducked down, rammed his left hand up under the thing's chin, and shoved it's head skyward so his right could slice across the vulnerable throat with his dagger. Blood spurted onto the ground as the monster snarled, talons scratching at the air as it fell backward. Nyx barely had time to try and wipe the blood off his hand before another was trying to take a bite out of his ass.

Behind him he could hear the sounds of Cor carving through the pack with the efficiency of the killing machine he was, slicing arcs through the air with his katana before it thudded into one of the monsters. Nyx turned, blade flashing as it stabbed into the neck of one voretooth that thought it could sneak up behind him.

Thinking back on it later, it was kind of funny how as the beast dropped he'd looked across the expanse of sand and they had locked eyes for a moment. The Marshal had his sword half-buried into a voretooth when he looked up and caught his gaze.

And then Cor had gone down, another one of the nasty bastards charging at him.

Nyx barely had time to think about it before the blade left his hand. It spun tip over handle until the point drove itself through the side of the monster's head as it tried to rip into Cor's leg. It dropped like a sack of dirt and Nyx kicked the next one closest to him as he took off running to help Cor.

Curses in three different languages left his mouth as he ripped the second dagger out of the sheath at the small of his back, taking a slice at another voretooth before he slid across the sand to Cor’s side. The second dagger found itself between a voretooth's eyes before the creature dropped with a groaning growl.

“You gods damned idiot,” Nyx hissed as he shoved his hand into the pocket of his coat. He’d stashed an elixir away in case he’d needed it at some point. He hadn’t expected to need it for Cor of all people.

There was a lot of blood and Nyx wasn’t sure how much of it was the Marshal’s and how much was from the monsters. Either way, it was _too_ much and Nyx could see where the voretooth’s talons had raked across the skin, tearing through the fabric of Cor’s trousers. He cracked the vile over the wound, ignoring the angry hiss that left the Marshal as he turned to glance around. The monsters were regrouping it seemed, getting ready for another joint attack.

Pulling the dagger he’d first thrown free of the dead voretooth that had attacked Cor, Nyx rummaged around in his pocket, finding the gun Cid had insisted he take as well. “No time like the present to learn something new,” he grumbled to himself.

 _”It ain’t hard.”_ Cid had said. _”Make sure the safety’s off”_ Nyx’s thumb slid down beside the trigger of the pistol, hitting the small switch there. _”Aim.”_ Gripping the dagger in his left hand in case the monsters got too close, Nyx rested the gun’s butt on his wrist to help stabilize it as he aimed at the creatures slowly stalking closer, all growls, and drooling mouths. _”Then just pull the trigger. It’ll take care of the rest.”_

His finger pulled at the metal and the muzzle flashed. The recoil hit his arm like an explosion, kicking his hand back. He adjusted quickly, aiming at the voretooth again, missed two more shots before finally grazing the bastard. The thing hissed angrily before jumping back and then darting off back up the rocks along the Peak, the others that remained following suit.

Breathing out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding, Nyx turned to check on Cor. The Marshal was watching him curiously, smeared in blood, dirt, and guts from their fighting with the voreteeth. “Guess it's my turn to play nurse,” Nyx murmured with a weary sigh. Pushing himself to his feet he helped Cor up, helping him steady himself before offering to be leaned on. “The rest area is closer than a haven. I know we want to lay low, but you and I both need a shower,” he pointed out, not that he needed to. Cor was agreeing before he’d really even finished talking.

They were out in the open for longer than either of them liked but as they got closer to the rest stop Nyx could tell the elixir was working. Cor was starting to lean into him less and less, and by the time they made it to the tiny town-like area, the Marshal was walking on his own, albeit with a slight limp added to his stride.

Nyx paused near the gas station closest to the hotel, staring at it warily. “I’m not a name that’s widely known,” he stated after a few minutes, turning to look at Cor pointedly. “Not like a particular Immortal, anyway.”

“Then I’ll give a fake name,” Cor shrugged, following Nyx as the Galahdian huffed then made his way through the hotel doors.

The woman behind the counter looked up at the sound of the bell over the door, took one look at them and scrunched up her nose like she’d seen something disgusting. Nyx wanted to laugh because he was sure they looked like death and vomit swirled together. “We’d like a room, please.” He tried to sound friendly and not bone-deep tired but failed on both accounts.

“Er… names?” She was scooting back from the window, probably trying to get away from the smell.

“Nyx Ulric and…” He paused to glance at Cor.

“Leon Ulric.”

Nyx choked and had to turn away from the receptionist who was dutifully writing their names down.

“Single or double?”

“As long as it has a shower with running water I don’t care.” Cor’s voice was coming out in a soft, annoyed growl. Nyx wasn’t sure if it was pain or annoyance but decided to step in.

“Double. Please.” He hated how his voice kind of squeaked but paid the woman quickly before grabbing the key and ushering Leonis up the stairs as quickly as either of them could go.

* * *

“Dirty name stealing bastard,” Nyx grouched later after they had both had a shower and he could peer down at Cor’s leg while the Marshal examined the damage.

“You said you weren’t well known.” The bastard sounded smug when he answered.

Nyx narrowed his eyes and frowned. “I take back what I said, about you not being as annoying as Luche. I very much want to choke you right now.”

Cor had the fucking nerve to _laugh_. “I’ll have you know Ulric is an ancestral name.”

Nyx huffed and turned his attention back to Cor’s leg. The elixir had closed up the worst of the wound, leaving behind three long, jagged pink scars. Nyx murmured a curse under his breath because, sure he’d had half a building dropped on him but those marks looked like they had hurt, and Cor had tanked it like a damn champ.

“Was that Galah?” Nyx looked up to find Cor looking at him curiously. “Whatever you mumbled just then,” Cor elaborated.

Nyx just kind of nodded dumbly because no one had ever really paid attention when he slipped back into his native tongue. Usually, it was just to curse or to call Drautos or Luche something ugly they wouldn’t understand. Most of the time he either got a disgusted look from some Insomnian douchebag or was just ignored entirely. It kind of shocked him Cor even bothered to remember the name of the language that would likely die off with its people.

“I wish,” Cor continued as he pulled his trouser leg back down, effectively hiding the damage that would likely be mostly gone by morning. “I could have gotten Cid to teach me some while we were on the road with Regis. I picked up on a few of his favorite curses, but that was it.”

Nyx was a little more than just confused. Cid seemed like the type of man that had been born and raised in the heart of Leide, but he supposed given enough time living somewhere else, it could wash away your heritage. “Is Cid… from Galahd?” he questioned, trying to picture a young Cid living amongst the lush forests he and Lib had been raised in and failed. 

“No. His wife was.”

There was a moment of intense clarity for Nyx, where he realised that Cid; of all the people on Eos, would know Galahdian traditions. It explained the old mechanic's laughter at Cor’s weird habit of messing with his braids. He buried his face into his palms and smothered the scream he wanted to release. “I’m going to the lobby. I saw a bar there.”

“Um, okay?”

“I’m going to drink it.”

Cor was quiet for a moment as Nyx rose to his feet. “The bar?” He sounded endlessly amused.

“The _whole_ bar.”

* * *

Morning found Cor completely healed and Nyx nursing a hangover, although he had admitted to feeling better than he had since waking up half under a building. Cor seemed pleased with that development and the two of them checked out after allowing themselves to enjoy one more shower. There weren't any caravans or hotels until after they reached Lestallum now.

The trip up into the hills was blessedly quiet and Nyx made a small, happy sound in the back of his throat when they made their way out of the hills. Below them was an expanse of trees, thick and lush in a way that reminded him of Galahd. Beyond that was the Disc of Cauthess, he was able to make out its distinct glow even from that distance.

Their trek down from the hills brought them closer to the treeline. Nebulawood, Cor had called it as they stared at the wall of trees. They could try to go through the thick underbrush of the forest, or they could go around. Going through would be quicker, but only if they didn't lose the direction they traveled. 

It was a thing of debate between the two of them. Cor seemed more than happy to traipse into the forest and get lost while Nyx adamantly voted to go around. He won out later when a series of harsh, angry growls rose from the treeline. From a distance Cor and Nyx had watched a small pride of coeurl as they stalked out of the forest, trailing after a wounded dulahorn calf that kept dipping in and out of the trees, trying to lose the large cats. Nyx figured it failed if the pained cry that rang through the forest a few minutes later was any indication. 

"Huh. Just like home." When Cor gave him a strange look, Nyx just shrugged. "I mean, the coeurl here are _tiny_ but otherwise, spot on."

"Are they as pissed off as the ones here?"

"Territorial," Nyx corrected with a laugh then tugged carefully at the collar of his shirt, pulling it down just enough for an old scar to show along the edges. A zigzag of lightning under the skin. An old testament and warning of why you didn't play with coeurl whiskers.

He'd been thirteen and beyond stupid, but that was part of growing up, right? Doing stupid shit and not dying built character. When he explained that much to Cor, the Marshal had grown quiet, as if thinking it over.

"Explains a lot." That was all the other man had to say on the matter.

Much later, when they were setting up camp for the night just north of the forest, Cor finally addressed the subject the only way a normal, thinking person could.

He asked questions.

"Why exactly were you playing with a coeurl's whiskers?"

It was an innocent enough question, one that deserved an answer.

"It was a dare," Nyx admitted and had to try very hard not to laugh at the look Cor shot him in response. "In my defense, I was trying to impress a girl from the village. "

Cor snorted. "And how did that work out?"

Nyx shrugged. "Figured out I wasn't really into girls."

There was another, longer pause before a soft, understanding "ah" left the Marshal's mouth that nearly put Nyx in stitches as he tried and failed to cage the laughter that ripped its way out of his throat.

Cor was possibly as dense as the Oracle Banking building that had fallen on Nyx during the fighting in Insomnia, but the Kingsglaive had to admit he found the whole thing preposterously adorable. 

Which was food for thought.

Food that Nyx shoved to the back of his mental refrigerator to be analyzed another day when they weren't roughing it out in the middle of Duscae.

* * *

They kept a bit closer to the woods the next morning, following the outline of the forest as they ventured ever closer to Lestallum. It wasn't the best option, but it was one Nyx had been willing to work with.

"I know coeurls," he told Cor as they walked along the edge of the forest, always glancing at the sky. "I know them better than Niff troopers. I can handle a few of them, they usually travel in pairs. MTs?" He paused and waved vaguely towards the sky. "They could drop several loads of them on us and we'd be in trouble."

They had no magic. Nyx couldn't warp around like a pissed off hornet or be the annoying little firebug he liked to be from time to time. Angry growls, fur, traveled in mated pairs and shot electricity through you if you got to close. _That_ they could handle. But they had to be careful either way. The elixir supply they'd started with had dwindled at this point and if both of them got hurt, he wasn't sure they'd make it to Lestallum at all.

He must have thought them up, some psychic ability to conjure trouble when he wanted it the least. No sooner had he thought about the Niffs than Cor was grabbing his arm and dragging him over to the tree line as the rumble of dropship engines sounded overhead. Nyx cursed under his breath then a little louder because the stupid ships were so loud.

The two of them watched from under one of the hardwood trees as the large ships slowly made their way through the sky like oversized whales. There was something very dark and venomous crawling around in Nyx's mind at the sight of those ships. Something as feral as the coeurls he and Cor had watched prowling through the trees only a few hours before.

"What I wouldn't give," he hissed softly as they watched the ships retreat. "To be the one to sink a blade between Aldercapt's shoulders." A final 'fuck you're to a man that had caused the world so much grief.

At least he'd been able to kill the man that had put a spear through the King's heart.

When he spoke as much, Cor seemed to regard him with an unfamiliar emotion. One the Marshal quickly hid behind an impassive mask. "Your opinion of Regis is a lot more than I was expecting," the Marshal confessed after he stewed over Nyx's words for a few more moments. "I thought most of the refugees hated him."

Nyx flinched, not because he'd been called out, but because it was a truth he hated to look at too closely at. Most of his people were bitter about how the whole thing had been handled, but Nyx couldn't be.

"Can't be angry at the man who saved me," he murmured with a shrug. Because Regis had called for the refugees to come to Insomnia at a point when they needed it most. They were treated like third rate citizens, sure. But the King had tried, and that had been all Nyx could ask for from the man.

"We were lost," he elaborated after the silence had stretched on for a bit. "All the fighting and the running… Lib lost his mom and dad, I only had my little sister and well…" Time didn't always heal wounds it seemed, so he skipped the part that was making his heart feel like it was shriveling inside of his chest. "When we reached the mainland we met Crowe. I think because we'd lost so much we just kind of latched onto her. She didn't have anyone, Lib and I only had each other." He gave a small shrug and laughed. "In the days before his Majesty called for the refugees to come to Insomnia, I got sick, couldn't tell you from what but it was putting a lot of strain on Lib." He paused and cast Cor a sideways glance. "Don't ever tell him about this." He waited, staring at Cor until the Marshal dipped his head in acknowledgment. "Thought about wandering off a few times. Drift off into the woods and just not come back. Better for Lib to focus his energy on keeping him and Crowe alive than both of them putting so much effort into me." It wasn't a good memory. The three of them had struggled a lot and Nyx had tried to do as much as he could for his friends. His family. His falling sick had thrown a wrench into everything. He'd lagged slowly, covering it up to keep it from being a problem. And then one day he just couldn't anymore.

Then Regis had put out the call for the refugees to come to Insomnia and serve him as part of his Kingsglaive. Some had been against it, mostly the outspoken parties were Insomnian. Libertus had talked him into making the trip. Begged him really. And while it had been begrudgingly given, they had gotten the help they desperately needed.

Nyx had never been able to fault the King. The ones around him that took advantage of his kindness, sure. But never Regis.

They reached the haven he'd marked on the map just as the sun sank on the horizon. Nyx stood at the center of the rock and watched as two iron giants rose from the ground with a rumbling roar. In the distance lights from other demons as they rose from the darkness glittered in the night air. Nyx suppressed a shiver and glanced at Cor who'd been quiet for the remainder of their hike. Either because he simply had nothing to say or because Nyx had been stewing in his memories too deep to respond.

"I'll take first watch."

* * *

"Kinda wish I'd tried to take a trip like this before the shit hit the fan," Nyx said as the two of them neared the road. They had to follow it for the rest of the way mostly, something neither of them liked all that much. Too many chances to get caught by Niffs, but at least they could see them coming. "You know, despite being half-dead for the first part and you having this weird obsession with touching my hair."

Cor snorted but it was followed by a light chuckle. "It comes from being partially raised by Regis."

Nyx stopped in the middle of the road so fast Cor ran into him with a soft grunt of surprise. Turning, he speared the Marshal with a look that had Cor tilting his head a little to the side.

"Explain."

Cor blinked and for the first time since Nyx had started traveling with him, the other man's facial features fell from their usual borderline annoyed to something a bit softer. “When I was a kid, I ran away from home. I know I was a brat, but I was good with a sword and Mors saw something blunt he could sharpen with time.”

Mors. The King before Regis and someone most thought had gone mad over the final years of his rule. He hadn’t been the worst king in the history of Eos, but he hadn’t been one of the greater ones either.

“When I was fifteen, Mors asked me to guard Regis. And I did, from home to Altissia then back. I kept on guarding him.” He paused, gazing past Nyx somewhere distant. “I kept guarding him even after he died and left Regis a young king with no guidance.” There was a trace of bitterness there, something rooted deep, but Cor stepped around it. “Growing up around them, all of them. Cid, Wesk, Clarus, Regis… Boundaries are a little weird. Regis had this thing,” a slight smile slowly tugged at the corners of Cor’s mouth. “Clarus called him a ‘serial snuggler’. Whoever was closest when he fell asleep had to deal with it. Since I was the youngest…” He trailed off and shrugged. “Clarus thought it was funny. So yeah, personal space is kind of different for me.”

Nyx laughed. It explained a lot, he realized, about Cor and all of the strange little quirks he was discovering about the Marshal. 

“You know,” Nyx started after they’d gotten down the road a bit more. They were crossing the bridge over the crag now. He paused briefly to peer over the edge towards the dark depths. Somewhere down there a river flowed, carving a path through ancient rock and crystal. “Lib was kinda the same way growing up. He’ll lie and say it was me all the time.” He paused long enough to roll his eyes. “Claimed I was like a cat trying to get to the warmest thing nearby. After the war though it stopped. I think it was because we’d have nightmares and wake each other up. And after we found Crowe, one of us always took a turn watching when we camped.” He gave a little loose shrug, turning his attention towards the sky to scan it for dropships. “Guess a kid has to lose that innocence at some point.”

Beside him, Cor hummed a soft agreement before pushing on. Nyx trailed behind him, his eyes turning to the ever-growing mass that was Lestallum. It was a relief really, to know he’d finally be back with his friends. It was also bittersweet, realising that he and Cor would part ways soon. He’d enjoyed his travels with the Marshal, but with them entering Lestallum they’d likely hardly see each other, if at all. Afterall, Cor was going to be trying to help the Prince in the task he had ahead of him while Nyx…

Well, Nyx wasn’t exactly sure what he was going to do. He was a Kingsglaive who’d at one time protected the King. But the King was dead and his son was trying to fulfill a prophecy.

His role seemed a whole lot smaller in the scheme of things.

“Dropship,” Cor hissed as they neared the end of the bridge and Nyx found himself sprinting along the last leg of the road to dive headfirst into a bush. The massive metal whale hovered for a moment and Nyx held his breath, wondering if it would drop troops. It didn’t and seemed to carefully veer away from Lestallum airspace as if that was just trouble waiting to happen.

Maybe it was.

Once the coast was clear, the two of them headed on up the road, making the slow climb up a winding hill that took them into a tunnel carved into the mountain. There were slots, like windows, carved into the outer wall so you could look out towards the Disc. It was a beautiful sight Nyx had to admit. 

“I think I’m going to miss traipsing across Lucis with you, Marshal. Despite being half-dead for some of it, it was fun.”

Cor snorted as they rounded the corner, up ahead the bright lights used to keep demons away from the city shone. Night had fallen as they made their way through the tunnel, but the lights rigged along the road had kept them safe from attack.

“There’s always hunting.”

Nyx frowned a little. “Hunting?”

“Some of the larger monsters and such. Monica told me that the crowns and glaives have banded together with the Hunters and started hunting the ones that are becoming a problem for refugees.” When Nyx just gave him an odd look, Cor shrugged. “It’s what I plan on doing. It will give me an excuse to look for tombs in different areas as well for the Prince.”

Because the Niffs thought Noctis was dead, or at least that was what they had announced to the world. Noctis was trying to stay hidden, so Cor was taking it upon himself to try and find the weapons Noct would need for the fight ahead of him.

Nyx was quiet for a moment as they walked on, waving as a guard from the city started approaching them dressed in the old glaive uniform. “Think you’ll need any help?” he asked cautiously, decidedly not glancing at the Marshal.

“There might be a position open.”

* * *

Nyx was pretty sure his bones cracked when Libertus hugged him. Despite not being taller than Nyx, his best friend still managed to pick his feet off the ground and was definitely not crying into his dusty jacket and calling him an idiot. Nyx just patted him on the back and laughed when Crowe ran over a few seconds later and practically tackled the two of them. Cor stood off to the side during the exchange, talking to a woman with ashen-brown hair. Nyx heard him call her ‘Monica’ and assumed she was one of his crowns. She was petite, but there was a sharpness about her that screamed deadly.

“You look like you were trampled by anaks,” Lib huffed as he finally sat Nyx back down, glaring at him. “What the hell did you do to your hair?”

Nyx self consciously reached up and touched his head, which felt fine until his fingers found the braids near his ear. He hadn’t redone them, he realised. Not since Cor had bitched about his head wound not healing properly. The Marshal had redone the braid and the wound had healed shortly after thanks to another elixir, so Nyx had never even thought about touching the braid. Had completely forgotten.

“It wasn’t like we were staying in hotels, Lib. We were on havens and had to fight off some nasty things while we were out there.” It was a bad cover, but it was one Lib bought with a shrug and a mumbled ‘whatever’ before he walked ahead, spouting off about how they were going to have to show him around the city in the morning.

He had always been easy to distract from things. Crowe, however, was perceptive. She’d watched Nyx braid his hair for years and she was watching him with this knowing look in her eyes as they trailed along the plait of hair.

“The direction’s wrong.”

Nyx paused and glanced at her curiously. “What?”

“The direction,” she said again, then gave him that wicked smile she reserved for people she had blackmail on. “It starts with a right strand. You always start with a left when you do your hair.” Her eyes drifted past him. “I suppose it could be a worse pairing. I’ll accept it.” Then she turned and walked off, walking to where Libertus had stopped and was waiting for them.

Nyx wanted to hide. Wanted to bury his face in the paved roads and wait for the world to end, or restart, or whatever the hell it was supposed to do once the prophecy was fulfilled. He sighed and stared after his friends dejectedly, knowing Crowe was going to tell Libertus at some point so the two of them could rib him about the whole thing for _years_. Then he paused and chanced a glance behind him towards where Monica was showing Cor several leaflets of papers.

Cor looked tired, but he was nodding his head and responding to whatever the crown was saying to him. Then it seemed like a sixth sense sparked somewhere, letting him know he was being watched. That icy gaze slid up from the papers in front of him to crash into Nyx’s and for a moment it felt like his spine had turned to steel.

Then the Marshal raised his hand, and there was something like a smile ghosting at the corner of his mouth. It caught Monica’s attention, her gaze shifting from the papers to Cor, then to Nyx; a look of curiosity hovering there before she pulled Cor’s attention back to the paperwork in her hand.

Nyx turned on his heel and started up the slope after Libertus and Crowe, ignoring the heat he could feel crawling around in his chest and slowly inching up his neck.

Besides, it wasn’t like he wasn’t going to see Cor again any time soon.

That position was still open after all.

**Author's Note:**

> There will be a part two! It will likely be just as long (if not longer) than this, and this one took a little while, but I'll try!


End file.
